Women with a larger waistline may be at higher risk for developing anxiety, according to a new study.
A study by researchers in Peru found that the cause-and-effect relationship between excess weight and anxiety that has previously been attributed to ‘stress eating’ may, in fact, be a vicious cycle.
The results suggest that women who are overweight are significantly more likely to have anxiety than slimmer women, possibly because both weight regulation and mental health are influenced by changes in hormones.
While previous studies have suggested that anxiety and being overweight are linked because stress causes people to over-eat, this study has implications on how we understand mental health in relation to weight.
A study by researchers in Peru found that middle-aged women with more abdominal fat are more likely to have anxiety (stock image)
More than 23 percent of adult women in the US are affected by a type of anxiety disorder.
Anxiety is associated with higher rates of medical problems such as heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, respiratory disorders and drug abuse.
This study aimed to determine whether greater abdominal fat – defined as weight-to-height ratio – is associated with an increased likelihood of developing anxiety.
‘Hormone changes may be involved in the development of both anxiety and abdominal obesity because of their roles in the brain as well as in fat distribution,’ Dr JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of the North American Menopause Society, said.
The higher a person’s weight-to-height ratio, the more abdominal fat they are presumed to have.
The researchers focused on middle-aged women because previous studies have shown an increase in the frequency of anxiety in women during midlife, which is believed to be a result of fluctuating levels of estrogen during menopause.
Previous research has shown that low estrogen levels lead to low serotonin levels, making people are more prone to anxiety and depression.
The study findings are based on data from more than 5,500 Latin American women between 40 and 59 years old, 57.9 percent of whom were post-menopausal.
Of the women studied, 61.3 percent reported having anxiety.
Just under 56 percent of women in the lower third for waist-to-height ratio had anxiety, compared with 59.7 percent in the middle third and 68.4 percent in the top third.
The results were published Wednesday in Menopause, the journal for the North American Menopause Society.
‘This study provides valuable insights for healthcare providers treating middle-aged women, because it implies that waist-to-height ratio could be a good marker for evaluating patients for anxiety,’ Dr Pinkerton said.
The researchers concluded that there is a definite link between waistline and anxiety, but more research needs to be done to further understand the correlation.